Playing Card Kickstarter Offering JAWS 40th Anniversary Deck

It’s been 40 years since artist Roger Kastel’s depiction of JAWS took society by storm, later serving as the cover of Peter Benchley’s novel and Stephen Spielberg’s movie poster.

To honor the iconic image and the fear it instilled in us all, notorious playing card maker Bicycle is introducing its new 40 Years of Fear Bicycle® playing cards.

The deck was made possible by lesser-known, locally-based card makers Crooked Kings Quality Playing Cards, who rely primarily on Kickstarter to make campaigns like the JAWS deck possible. Crooked Kings said on its Kickstarter page that it received licensing rights from Kastel to use the image for the cover of the deck’s tuck box, which was also vital in the process.

The cards themselves feature images of various swimmers encountering or being stalked by JAWS, and their luck certainly varies from card to card. A black-and-white design featuring various nautical elements marks the back of the cards.

The campaign’s Kickstarter page ultimately received more than 500 backers and more than $20,000 as of time of publication (29 hours remaining in the campaign). Additional special add-ons to purchasing the deck can become available as more money is raised, beginning with the $30,000 plateau.

Image credit: Crooked Kings Playing Cards (via Kickstarter)